Anime RE-Claimed: Dragonball Super

Ya know, if years ago you'd have told me there was going to be another "Dragonball" series I'd have rolled my eyes and said "What?! Really?!" but in this day and age of things coming back ("24", "Prison Break", "Heroes: Reborn", "Fuller House" and I'm pretty sure I'm missing something) "Dragonball" was the LAST thing I'd expect to make a come back. But Akira Toriyama wasn't done and in 2016 came out with "Battle Of The Gods" and introduced us to Beerus and Whis, 2 divine powers that pushed Goku to a new level Super Saiyajin God. After the movie was a success, it was announced that Dragonball would get a NEW series a legit sequel (unlike "Dragonball GT") named "Dragonball Super" and now here we are and here's what I think!

At the time of writing this I concluded that "Battle Of The Gods" Arc and am now firmly within "The Resurrection F" Arc which features everyone's favorite hate sink Frieza. I have to say "Dragonball Super" feels like "Dragonball Z" in a lot of ways and I love it! "Dragonball GT" really fast-forwarded through a lot of things, speeding up to Trunks & Goten being in their early teens, Pan being a child and so on. And while "Dragonball GT" did maintain the continuity of Uubu, "Dragonball Super" maintains Majin Buu as a member of the cast and maintains that he's a force to be reckoned with. But the real enjoyment comes from seeing everyone in their own phases of life. Bulma and Vegeta, Goku, Mr. Satan, Krillin, Hell, we check in on everybody and see what's been going on since Buu was defeated.

That aside, "The Battle Of The Gods" Arc did bore me. Beerus is an interesting character but with such story breaking power, there really can't be much conflict. And I get he's supposed to be beyond overpowered but having him flip out over pudding, despite being funny wasn't enough for me to engaged and his constant threatening to destroy the Earth was tiresome. I get he does so because he's bored but he was too engaged and likewise too disengaged to care about. What I mean is there was no way Goku could've possibly beat him so the entire fight was ultimately pointless and only served to introduce the characters to each other BUT at the same time that fact that he's so overpowered gives him enough leeway not to care about what's going on in the series. This leads me to Resurrection F.

"Frieza, I think the Saiyajins might benefit from The Benign Neglect."

My goodness, I've forgotten just how much I hated Frieza until I saw him again. Reintroducing Frieza in "Super" was amazing and a good piece of Dragonball continuity because this is completely logical! Why wouldn't Frieza's men resurrect him? Also the return of Frieza is handled really well considering that this is the first time Frieza trained in his life and that really made his return worth it. Every villain following Frieza hasn't been as much of a bastard as Frieza. Cell was delightfully smug, Majin Buu was hilarious but Frieza, Frieza was truly a diabolical and racist asshole and I love him for it. Having him come back to an even stronger Goku and Vegeta is awesome.

Vegeta finally gets to be a sarcastic prick for once and it's awesome.

Likewise, having Goku and Vegeta be in completely different places when facing Frieza changes the dynamic of their relationship, especially with Vegeta. Because while Frieza HATES Goku, Vegeta loathes Frieza to high hell and wasted his opportunity to fight him by killing (the hilariously restored) Captain Ginyu almost instantly, which is both amazing and poetic. Ginyu's return was also an awesome tidbit because we finally got some resolution to his character. Also speaking of resolution (not good with segways) WHAT THE F*CK, GOHAN!

Seriously, like what the actual f*ck, Gohan! This may come as a shock but Gohan is actually my favorite character, not The Gohan who pounded Raditz in the chest, not the Gohan that killed Cell, not future Gohan, But high school aged Great Saiyaman Gohan! That is my favorite Gohan, The Gohan that fought Majin Buu, THAT'S MY GOHAN! With all of that said...I have no clue who...

...this...

I remember reading a long time ago that Gohan was actually intended to be the main character of "Dragonball Z" before Toriyama (either forced to or decided to) change his mind and keep Goku as the main character, which is fine but why at the expense of Gohan? Gohan's a little bitch in this series and why in the hell is he wearing glasses? That I aside, I get being a husband and all probably keeps him from training BUT damnit, both Gohan & Videl are well known martial artists, Videl once had a job of LITERALLY fighting crime on her own in place of her father, and it was even her idea to compete in the Worlds Martial Arts Tournament. There would be NO reason he couldn't have kept up with his training! He has Buu he can spar with and he can at least stretch his legs being The Great Saiyaman! There's no reason for him to be a little bitch this series...and again, I hate saying that because I LOVE me some Gohan!

That being said, Krillin, another one of my favorite characters is AWESOME in this series. I love his relationship with Android 18, and she seems to really love him, which is great. I also like the fact that he becomes a police officer. Krillin gets dogged out a lot but he has a GREAT moment in The Resurrection F Arc that really showcases how much of a badass Krillin truly is if he allowed himself to be and for that I'm grateful.

All in all, I love "Dragonball Super". It's a nice return to form and I'm really looking forward to what's coming down the pike. We have The Universe Survival Arc and I'm REALLY looking forward to that, because it will turn Beerus into more of a sideline coach leading his team, and having Goku and The Z Fighters have to ally themselves with Frieza is just too delicious to pass up. I'm looking forward to seeing Hit, the 2 female Saiyajins Cauliflia & Kale and I'm REALLY interested in this Jiren guy. I'm happy to see the series return in such a strong fashion, it seems like "Dragonball Super" has really settled in and hasn't gotten stale despite just being a show about people getting beaten up. It toes the line between comedy and thrilling and I think it really holds it's own as the greatest action cartoon ever made. Can't wait to see more, I love it! Anyways I'll catch you guys later!